#young royals anniversary

[sflow-er]

Happy three years of Young Royals

I remember I kept coming across the trailer in June 2021 and being unimpressed by what looked like Swedish Elite. The only reason YR ended up on my watch list was this post by author Jonas Gardell:

It took me a week or two more to actually start watching, but once I did, I could not stop. So, my thanks for everything this show brought into my life go out to the entire cast and crew - but also to one of my favourite Swedish authors for that final nudge!

In that spirit, I want to promote Gardell's own stuff here as three of his shows are now available worldwide on SVT Play. There are no subs only Swedish subs, so you can put those YR-inspired Swedish skills to good use! I've written English blurbs under the cut.

That happy GIF of Rasmus and Benjamin breaks my heart. Anyway...

De halvt dolda (2009, 4 episodes)

Tells the stories of four families living in Stockholm with particular emphasis on the children. In the 1970s, there are three brothers, rebelling against their religious father and dealing with the loss of their mother. In the 1990s, there's a young skinhead with two little brothers and an alcoholic mum, and a withdrawn closeted young boy from a suburban family who is targeted by the skinhead and his friends. The fourth family consists of a married couple in the 1970s; the husband is emotionally abusive to his wife and jealous of his successful brother.

Won the Kristallen award for best drama.

Torka aldrig tårar utan handskar (2011, 3 episodes)

Probably Gardell's best-known work, this is a tragic story about a young gay couple and their friend group, set during the AIDS epidemic in 1980s Stockholm. The story starts with small-town boy Rasmus moving into the big city and being taken under the wing of an out-and-proud man named Paul. Through him and his friends, Rasmus meets and falls in love with Benjamin, a closeted Jehovah's Witness. All their lives are soon overshadowed by the new sickness sweeping through town.

Won the Kristallen award for best drama.

De dagar som blommorna blommar (2019, 3 episodes)

A heavy drama about three boys whose families are neighbours in 1970s Stockholm. There are tensions bubbling under and facades being upheld by their parents, with long-lasting impact on their lives. In the 1990s, one of the guys has decided to take his family to Estonia to discover his heritage (with tragic consequences). Another is still stuck under the abusive influence of his older brother, while the third is directing a play about his parents' divorce.

This one got slightly mixed reviews; Aftonbladet gave it four stars while Svenska Dagbladet gave only two. Apparently, the jumps between timelines can be hard to follow and the story gets melodramatic at times, but the acting is top notch. I didn't actually get the chance to watch it when it came out so I intend to do it this summer!

[noodlearg]

happy birthday to the best show of all time 🎉🎉

[jtwent]

This show changed my outlook on life. Thank you, Young Royals!

[retrieve-the-kraken]

In honor of the Young Royals anniversary, I’m posting my pictures from my pilgrimage to the holiest of places in YR fandom, Kaggeholm slottet (Hillerska).

I have to say, not only was it so surreal to arrive at the actual place, but it was actually one of the nicest days from my whole trip to the Nordics (besides seeing Omar at Furuvik and my birthday). It was such a nice day with perfect weather, the trip to Ekerö itself was kind of a fun little adventure, and I wasn’t yet dying from pollen allergy (more on that some other time). It was great.

I have to say, getting off the bus, and seeing the bus stop, and then turning around and realizing that the building is RIGHT THERE, was a little shocking. I don’t know what it is, but the dimensions of everything in my head were completely different. I mean, is it me, or did everything look bigger, farther, higher on the show…?

The area is very peaceful. I saw some cars arriving, some people working in the surrounding buildings, and I was prepared to be told to “get the fuck out”, but no one said anything to me. Guess they’re either very used to YR fans walking around in awe and they don’t pay us any mind (unless you’re disruptive or something, perhaps?), or they just don’t mind visitors. Either way, I was left to roam the area, and take pictures and nobody ever asked me anything.

The main building was closed, though, and through the windows I could see a lot of piled furniture. The high season is in the summer, and it’s clear that they were working on the areas and buildings used by visitors, and for summer activities. I didn’t walk too much around the buildings in the back because they were working, and I was worried about walking straight into a construction.

The whole garden was in dire need of upkeep, which I’m guessing happens nearer the start of the summer season. The grass was quite high, and there were loads of flowers growing everywhere. The fountain was empty.

But the area was really beautiful and peaceful. Sometimes there was the noise of grass-cutting equipment or an electric saw, but most of the time, I just heard birds singing, and the breeze, and it felt very nice. Perfect for a picnic.

Look! The classroom building! And the pier!

It was near midday, and I had to figure out where I’d have lunch. I brought a little picnic, but it felt kind of weird to sit there all alone and eat. Also I couldn’t see where to dispose of my garbage afterwards, so after taking a gajillion pictures and videos, I started back toward the front to wait for the bus in the iconic bus stop.

On my way around the main building, I saw this offering by a fellow YR fan.

Also, since I knew the bus would still be a little while, I did sit at a picnic table on the front, and had a knäckebröd sandwich, in honor of Wilmon. And I enjoyed some more of the soothing sounds of birds singing.

And the final stop of my little tour was the red bus stop.

Wow, that place has been turned into a real chapel of YR adoration and prayer, hasn’t it?

I was amazed by the amount of graffiti all over it, paying tribute to all the characters, the actors, the creators and the magic of the show. But I was also amazed about the fact that it has been left untouched. I hope it remains like that forever, but you never know, so I captured as much of it as I could. I might have to share them all in another post, because this is not letting me right now...

I left my own mark, so if anyone ever visits, you might find a tiny message saying Retrieve-the-Kraken was here (or something like that, can't remember) somewhere on the bench. I think I remember thanking Lisa too.

So there you have it. I was but a humble pilgrim wanting to see the place where one of the most special shows that was a very special part of my life for three years took place, and it did not disappoint.

It felt especially bittersweet to be there after the end of the show. From the way the place looked, it was almost like they really shut down Hillerska, but also it was like entering a dimension of its own, the birthplace of a love like no other. And I don't mean just Wilmon Endgame™, I mean a very special fandom which will live in my heart forever.

I'm not ready to let go just yet, though...

[themarsbar]

"You really are a walking cry for help, aren't you?"

Prince Wilhelm, from My Bad by @iwouldnevergetintofanfic

A couple of notes:

I took a few liberties with the placement of the tattoos, so that I could include as many as possible of the ones that are mentioned in the fic.

Fun fact! For the crown on Wille's arm I tried to replicate the real Prince Wilhelm's crown, which now belongs to little Prince Oscar, second child to Crown Princess Victoria and technically, future "spare" (not actually calling him a spare I promise, just highlighting the coincidence).

The sparrows are an added bonus, based on Jo's mood board, but also because they symbolize loyalty, commitment and dedication (guess to whom).

They're a little hard to see but if you haven’t noticed them it's kinda imperative that you peep that nose ring and that nipple piercing.

[jtwent]

I'm going to Sweden later this month!

If you are interested in becoming a fan of Young Royals side effects may include...

falling into the youtube rabbit hole that is Omar Rudberg's music career all the way from his time with FO&O to the present day when he is now your most listened to artist of all time on Spotify

Buying every. single. purple hoodie you can find

attempting to learn Swedish on Duolingo because the only Swedish phrase you know is jag älskar dig

being triggered by the entire month of August

feeling the need to keep your curtains closed 24/7

buying Crisis by Karin Boye because they read it in the show

wanting to try ketchup on your pasta even though you know your italian grandmother would be rolling in her grave if you did that

FINALLY (and most importantly) making online friends through your love of the show that you sometimes talk to more than your in real life friends and wanting to take a trip to Sweden with those online friends that you love so much (because you actually started posting on tumblr instead of just lurking)

[itsrosiesstuff]

It's been two years since young royals season 2 got released 💜💙

[lepixapox]

Happy one year of Young Royals season 2💜

[groenendaelfic]

A year and a bit ago, I was procrastinating on Reddit as one does, scrolling through r/television's weekly What are you watching and what do you recommend? post, when one of the comments caught my eye.

Young Royals. It's gay and no one has aids.

It said.

That was it, nothing else.

Somehow at that moment that was enough for me to check it out, in a right time, right place kind of way, or maybe it was simply fate. It's certainly not how I've been recommending the show, and yet it worked.

I proceeded to binge Young Royals that night and the following day, giggling and crying and clutching my pillow telling my so that this this is the show I've been wanting all my life, and then I watched it again and again and wondered how I'd ever survive waiting over ten days for season 2 to come out. (cute, right?)

The solution was of course writing fic. And so over the next two days Their Own Medicine was born.

362,194 posted words later, and many more waiting in assorted wip documents and my dtf fic ideas notebook, we've reached the one year anniversary of me posting my first Young Royals fic.

And what a year it's been! Thank you so much everyone for this wonderful journey. I know I'm not always the best at answering comments or reblogging stuff (mostly because I'm shy and want to do it properly and plan out novel length replies in my head which then weirdly enough don't write themselves down), but words cannot express how much I appreciate all of you and how much the Young Royals famdom has come to mean to me.

I've met so many wonderful people and had so many thought provoking discussions, mused over a lot of fic ideas and chatted over what-ifs, it's truly enriched my life (and turned my procrastination time into fic writing time, which has certainly been much more enjoyable, sorry not sorry Reddit).

You all rock and I hope we have many more happy years full of fics and gifs and polls ahead of us. I for one can't wait for what's to come.

Cheers and I hope you have a nice Christmas!

[hehehereliesmysanity]

You know what I find it so funny? While listening to Simon's song, you can relate so much, you can understand how much it sums up their whole relationship and what they went through. Simon smiling all teeth and Wille being more subtle but screaming inside, them staring at each other. This took place after they kissed, that was not even planned, if it wasn't Wille letting him go and Simon being afraid that he might lose him for good.

Wille closing his eyes at 'what we were can never be forgotten'

and

Simon closing his eyes at 'memories will never fade' and 'cannot forget our golden days'

*chef's kiss

Simon saying 'the choir' after they kissed and rushing to make it in time. You know people say he didn't say his date's name but he panicked because of his performance. That is still about Wille. Simon is like 'I wrote a whole song for you to perform in front of the whole school and I won't mess it up.'

And then you listen to the song and it ends with

'the answer, I am sure, is that hillerska will endure'

and you are like

Oh wait, that was supposed to be the school song.

You know the teacher told Simon to include Hillerska somewhere. You know it's coming but you are still surprised it is there and the song was supposed to be about Hillerska. And the only person who doesn't understand what is really about is the boy you wrote the song for.

(And something something about the music teacher, aka the only person who is interested in Simon and his talent, not having a name. We all know the other teachers' names but not her. Because she is only relevant when Simon is around.)

[sflow-er]

Two-year fic anniversary

I can't believe it's been two whole years since OPS was completed. Happy anniversary to all my ace Henry AU boys, their happy endings, and me finishing a story for the first time in well over a decade!

To celebrate the occasion, I'm going to put two of my personal favourite bits from ch33 under the cut (neither of them are Wilmon, sorry).

-Big spoiler warning-

Firstly, the whole confrontation between Henry and his parents but especially this part:

He fell silent and dug his hands deeper into his pockets to physically force his shoulders to stop rising and falling so rapidly. It felt surprisingly good to say all that, but since he had no idea what was supposed to come next, it was best to try to appear calmer than he felt. His parents were not saying anything. His father was simply pinching his lips together with a strange look, and his mother kept batting her lashes in quick bursts while they both stared at his flushed face. The next thing he knew, Mickan rushed to hug him. Her arms felt less stiff than usual clamping around him, and the way she squeezed him to her chest was almost a bit clingy. He allowed it but was too wary to reciprocate right away, even if the familiar scent of her perfume stirred an old impulse to do that. “I’m so sorry, Henry,” she said in a small voice. “I understand why you feel that way, and it’s all our fault.” She sniffled at the end, and at that point, Henry’s arms moved around her without much input from his brain. She hesitantly petted his hair, and the next time he exhaled, some of the tension in his back and shoulders flowed out. He repeated it one breath after another, gradually relaxing into the embrace. His eyes burned a little, but he breathed through it. After a while, a hand landed on his free shoulder, and Calle said in a tone that could only be described as apologetic, “It’ll be okay.”

And secondly, the very last lines (after Henry wants to tell some of his family friends that Walter is in fact his boyfriend). All the Walty bits in this chapter are shamelessly sappy since it's the last one, but I am really happy with the ending:

In response, Walter darted up to press their lips together for less than a couple of seconds, almost too fast for Henry to register the kiss before it already disconnected with a smack. Then he sat up, picked Henry’s phone from the coffee table, and handed it over. “Do it then. I’ll try to think of a good lady of the manor joke to tell them.” “Please don’t,” Henry said, opening the contact on his phone. “It needs to be a really bad one. The worse the better.”

[noodlearg]

happy birthday young royals

[willestears]

Even though yr is over, im so grateful I got to experience the show while it was on, I was there for the crazy theories, leaked articles, promos, awards seasons and filming days. I was lucky to be there and wouldn’t change a thing🥹

[butterflybanana123]

happy three years of young royals 💜

[wastelandroses]

Two years of Young Royals s1

[young-royals-confessions]

I've seen discussion about this topic so I thought I'd make a poll about it. The amount of time that is considered waiting is open to your interpretation - for example I watched s1 for the first time about two weeks before s2 was released and I do not consider that a wait.